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IG: VA Delays Caused Vets’ Deaths

I think most of us are aware of the fact that catching cancer early is a good idea, and could save lives. According to this article at the Washington Free Beacon, there’s a VA facility in New Mexico that has caused some vets to die due to delays in notifying the vets that they had cancer. Don’t take my word for it, y’all. From the Free Beacon post:

Dozens of veterans who tested positive for colorectal cancer at the New Mexico VA Health Care System in Albuquerque were not notified of their results in a timely manner, according to the inspector general report released this week, which faulted a lack of oversight from the system’s leadership.

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Screening can detect the cancer in its early stages, making it easier to beat.

Nine veterans who sought care at the New Mexico VA hospital in fiscal years 2013 and 2014 and who were eventually diagnosed with colorectal cancer “experienced delays and, in some instances, significant delays that may have affected the patients’ clinical outcomes,” investigators found.

For three of the veterans, mismanagement at the hospital resulted in them waiting three, eight, and nine months respectively before being notified of their positive colorectal screening; another veteran was never notified, only to be diagnosed with cancer after approaching his doctor with pain nine months later. VA policy at the time of the review mandated that hospital staffers notify patients of results within 14 days, meaning that the veterans’ delays were as much as 20 times the acceptable wait period.

Two of the four veterans who were put at risk by care delays died after undergoing chemotherapy and other procedures.

I recommend following the link to the WFB post, and reading the whole thing, y’all. Folks, we have to do better by our veterans. We obviously cannot count on the bureaucrats and bean-counters at the VA to properly care for those who sacrifice so much for their country. Supposedly, the Obama Administration was going to make things better at the VA…it doesn’t look like it, though, does it?